In Brazil, health officials are investigating a possible connection between the virus and babies born with brain defects and abnormally small heads.
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Zika, linked to thousands of birth defects in Brazil, is primarily transmitted through mosquito bites, but word surfaced this week of infections through sex and blood transfusions, and news of the presence of the virus in the saliva and urine of two patients prompted new worries.
Fisc recommended even more caution for pregnant women, due to the Zika virus’ potential to cause microcephaly in babies whose mothers were infected during early pregnancy.
Brazilian scientists have detected the Zika virus in urine and saliva samples of two infected patients.
After confirming a sexually transmitted case of Zika virus in Dallas County, Texas, the CDC released guidelines calling for men who have traveled to affected areas to use condoms during sex with a pregnant partner or abstain from sex for the duration of the pregnancy.
Florida’s warm climate, year-round mosquitoes and revolving door of worldwide travelers make it vulnerable to the Zika virus.
The other, which the agency urged late Tuesday, is for men who live in or have traveled to Zika-affected regions to consistently and correctly use condoms during sex with a pregnant partner. Severe complications from the virus that require hospitalization are rare, according to the CDC.
The CDC is now expanding testing to all pregnant women who were in the designated countries where Zika is spreading.
The Zika virus usually remains in the blood of an infected person for about a week, but it can be found longer in some people.
Queensland Health public health physician Dr Andrew Langley said the fact the Coast had only a handful of dengue cases a year also indicated that the capacity for a local Zika outbreak was limited. “We’re not aware of any prior mosquito-borne disease associated with such a potentially devastating birth outcome on a scale anything like what appears to be occurring with Zika in Brazil”.
That work is just finishing up and the picture will be clearer when the team’s data can be analyzed, Petersen said. Those with symptoms may experience fever, joint pain and a rash.
He said that risk for developing Zika depends on how long a person was in the area where Zika is present, how many mosquitoes are active in that area, how many mosquito bites they had and how well they protected themselves.
“Because this phenomenon is so new, we are quite literally discovering more about it each and every day”, Frieden said.
This is why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that pregnant women and women trying to become pregnant postpone travel to areas with high rates of Zika. It has now spread to more than 20 countries.
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The Colombian province of Norte de Santander reported almost 5,000 cases of the virus, more than any other in the country, an epidemiological bulletin from the national health institute shows, Reuters reported.
